A slew of better-than-expected earnings, including from big
U.S. banks, in recent days have led analysts to narrow their
estimate for the drop in third-quarter profit at S&P 500
companies to 0.1 percent from their earlier view of 0.7 percent.

Of the 37 S&P 500 companies that have reported results until
Monday, 78 percent have reported earnings that have topped
analysts average estimate, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

"The markets are expecting an inflection point as we move
from the third to the fourth quarter, and so what they will be
parsing in management guidance is for view that earnings turn
positive in the fourth quarter," said David Donabedian, chief
investment officer of Atlantic Trust Private Wealth Management.

Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 37.25 points, or 0.78
percent, on volume of 31,213 contracts.

A report from the Labor Department showed consumer prices
rose 0.3 percent in September, after rising 0.2 percent the
previous month, due to strong gains in gasoline and rents.

The dollar fell from the seven-month high it held for
the past five days after Federal Reserve Vice Chair Stanley
Fischer said Monday that the U.S. economy was very close to its
employment and inflation goals, but warned on any rash changes
to monetary policy.